28 July 2012

My brother Mike marvels over how positive Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen can remain while commentating on a cycling race. Whatever people say about Phil and Paul, there is no doubt that they are always positive about cycling. Phil Liggett unflinchingly looks on the bright side, unquestionably believing good will prevail. That is quite a trait, or perhaps the craft of a paid position, but for me, a generally positive person, I admit I lack tolerance for certain things. I know I would not be able to keep all that goes through my mind to myself, as Phil and Paul do.

Today I listened to Paul Sherwen commentate for NBC on the Olympic men's road race. He maintained his professional tone straight through Vinokourov's win and Cavendish's and Phinney's losses. I definitely could not have done that. Within the walls of my living room, I was off the couch standing in front of the TV when Cancellara crashed head-straight into a hard right corner, I reacted with a loud, "Oh Noooo."

I was adding my own commentary (as many of us probably were) during the last few kilometers as I watched Vino cross the finish line in first place. My commentary went something like this, "Phinney quit looking at everyone else, if you want it - GO. Go after Rigoberto. Ah man, you just lost your race." "Vino, are you kidding me, Vino is going to win. Don't let him win. I would not have sat here for hours watching this race if I had known Vino was going to win. Ugh, four years with Vino in that title." "Poor Cav, bummer, but he is taking it well." "Look how sad Phinney looks, he missed out on everything else to focus on this race and he lost." "Awh, Fabian is crying.""Wow, Chris Horner is still talking." Unlike me, Paul had kept composed enough to only say things like "you cannot predict a race like this."

My brother was much wiser, he realized the NBC coverage was delayed, checked the results on line, saw that Vino had won, closed his computer in disgust, and went for a bike ride. I spent my time watching that race. I love this sport, but sometimes I don't like everything. One thing I do not like is the number of convicted dopers we still have actively racing in the peloton. I may not express my opinions often on this blog, but I don't like to see a known doper winning an Olympic Gold Medal.

The Olympics are sacred to me, they represent what sport meant to me as a child, when my heroes where Olympians. Vino does not fit the bill, I admit I am disappointed. Although Vinokourov stated this would be his swan-song and he is now retiring (again) after the Olympics. It seems an injustice, I wanted the gold to go to a young well-deserving rider, no matter what country he was from. I think it odd some press have called Vino an "unknown", which he certainly is not, what he is known for is not something I like to think of as an Olympic quality, but I understand many fans and teammates are proud of him and he certainly was happy.

I don't spend much time worrying about doping in professional cycling. People ask me what I think; I accept it as both history and possibility, but remain curious of the trends as methods come and go. A couple years ago I noticed as fans we seemed to be waiting longer for the riders to come through. Minutes lapsed behind the estimated time schedules until the riders actually arrived. Hmm either the riders were not riding as fast as previous years, or maybe use of performance enhancing drugs really had changed. Now I get questions such as, "What happened to Levi, is he no longer taking drugs?" I don't know, maybe Levi is not using drugs and others are back on them? But what and how, again I don't know.

What bothers me far more is the use of drugs in amateur racing. Weekend warriors, middle aged men and women who need to create an image for themselves as racers at any cost. I was disgusted at the news that David Anthony tested positive after winning his age-group (45-49) at the first ever New York Grand Fondo. This was the United States' chance at creating a true competitive style cyclosportif event which are so successful in Europe - and we end up with a past-his-prime doper, what is the point? All of this trickles down to the Juniors. It is not only the immoral concept of cheaters, nor the health of the athlete we are trying to protect, it is the pressure put on our youth that they must dope or have no chance to win in cycling. Wider Testing Reveals Doping Among Amateur Cyclists, Too

Still why the riders in the Olympic road race let Vino go off the front when he is a former Silver-Medalist (Sidney 2000) and known to ride his own race, I do not understand. I would have liked to see an exciting sprint finish battle between 7-8 riders for the line. I see no reason for anyone to be disappointed in Mark Cavendish, he remains the World Champion and continues to inspire young riders around the world and has significantly grown the sport of cycling in the UK. Cav is an admirable athlete. Also the fans in Britain were magnificent. Now that is the way to support a cycle race!

We still have the men's individual time trial to look forward to on Wednesday: Final -Hampton Court Palace - Wednesday, 01 August 2012 14:15. View the Olympic men's individual cycling time trial start list / roster, you will see that Vinokourov is on the list (he reports it will be his last race). I probably will work through the event so I don't take the chance of witnessing him win. Although this time I am hoping that Cancellara triumphs. His visit to the hospital after the road race showed no fractures on the xrays, but the Swiss team is waiting to make the decision about whether Fabian will race on Wednesday. (Update 30 July: Fabian will race)

If the gold is not for Fabian, I would be happy to see any of the other lead contenders on the podium. I like Luis Leon Sanchez and Peter Velits (I am a big fan of both riders), but Tony Martin, Chris Froome, Taylor Phinney, even Wiggo would all deserve the gold. It is also possible that Cadel Evans will not race the time trial event at the Olympics, he reports problems with his health and a general uncertainty. We may be hearing of a retiring Cadel Evans soon. (Update 30 July: Cadel will not race)

As a reminder of the 53.5km Stage 19 individual time trial at the 2012 Tour de France, only 5 of the riders within the top-20 results will be competing in the Olympic road time trial on Wednesday. There are plenty of riders who did not race in the Tour de France and thus it is unclear how they will stack up against each other in regards to form, but I wouldn't put all your eggs in the Wiggo basket. The Olympic course is also mid-distance at 44 km with plenty of turns. In the words of Paul Sherwen "you cannot predict a race like this ahead of time."

Time trial results from Stage 19 Tour de France (these riders will be competing in the Olympics). See the Full Olympic ITT Roster by VeloNews.com

1

Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling

1:04:13

2

Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling

0:01:16

3

Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team

0:01:50

4

Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-QuickStep

0:02:02

18

Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-QuickStep

0:03:43

2012 Olympic time trial route map

Humor is sometimes the best way to get over disappointment. Human nature - it keeps us guessing.

Who will be racing for gold on the road in the Olympics
Related post:US Olympic team for cycling and route maps and time schedule
This is the time when riders race for country; 63 countries will compete in the race. Roster list of riders for the 2012 Olympic road race:

24 July 2012

Two years ago I was lucky to find a wonderful place to stay in Saint-Savin, France. In the heart of one of the richest cycling valleys in the Pyrenees, you will find Paddy and Olive who run La Lanterne Rouge Cycling Lodge (VeloPeloton). They welcome cyclists from around the world to stay and cycle to their hearts content. I stayed for two nights, two nights is definitely not long enough. There are climbs galore, excellent food and good company - why leave? Paddy and Olive (and young Sean) have become friends, it was so good to return again to see them. But leave I must, tomorrow will be my last day cycling in the Pyrenees before I depart from Toulouse. Awwwh shucks. But look at all the fabulous sights I saw during my stay in Saint-Savin ....

I arrived last night and took a walk around the tiny town on the hill with a distinctive church (which caught quite a bit of Tour de France air time. So did La Laterne Rouge which was mentioned on TV - so exciting).

Tourmalet and Luz Ardiden are up valley

Church in Saint Savin

town of Saint-Savin near Argeles-Gazost

local homes

Saint-Savin town square

Lavendon Valley

View across to the Hautacam

My corner room at La Lanterne Rouge

Today I cycled to Gavernie. A nice easy road which definitely ranks as a "destination ride".

I got to cycle this road to the Cirque de Gavernie

Gavernie

hiking to the Cirque

I sat by this creek for a long time with my feet in the water

hiking families came by (love the baguettes in the backpack)

local school boys were fishing for trout

Grandpa was watching

These souvenirs kept whistling (crack me up)

The Napoleon Bridge on the road back to Saint Luz Sauveur

We had a delicious dinner tonight and Olive made Katie (their niece) and me a birthday cake. There are two other guests at the Lodge right now, Jonathan from England who is riding his bike (and eating cakes) all over France for 6-weeks and Audrey who just arrived from Singapore, another Aussie guest left yesterday after staying for 10-days.

Tonight after dinner I sat out in the yard and chatted with Paddy, always good conversation with Paddy around, it was nice to relax as the sun was setting. If you are a cyclist, La Lanterne Rouge is a nice place to stop by for a few days, climbs in the area (out the back door) include the well known climbs of the Tour de France - Col du Tourmalet, Luz Ardiden, Hautacam, Col du Soulor, Col d'Aubisque. Plus fantastic riding to and hiking in the areas of Cirque de Gavernie and Cautarets. Would you believe La Lanterne Rouge is already booked up for 2 weeks around the 2013 Tour de France by a large group from New South Wales, Australia.

I hope it is used
again, because Stage 17 of the 2012 Tour de France had everything. We sat
perched on a hillside watching the fog cover and uncover a distant mountain.
The Port de Bales was around the corner, the riders would be climbing it
shortly and then heading our way. We sat waiting 150 meters from the finish
line after managing to get ourselves to the top of yet another mountain. This
time we were in the Pyrenees at the mountain top finish of Peyragudes.

The climb was steady
and cyclists lined the road turning their pedals upwards through a large crowd of fans. I entertained myself
guessing the accents overheard – Spanish, Australian, Norwegian, Swiss,
Italian, German, British, hmm not many Americans. The campervans became thick
as we wend our way to the Col de Peyresourde and it’s famous Creperie, where we
had a coffee and a piece of local cake and enjoyed the atmosphere of being at the Tour de France.

The crowd and
especially the waitress at the Creperie were great fun. The creperie is a
traditional stop for cyclists and they were lucky to have two big business days this year since
the previous day’s stage had passed in the opposite direction. We joked
and laughed with the waitress who was incredibly jovial, then rode down about
2km to the juncture of the road to the ski station at Peyragudes. There we said
hi to Peter Thomson who had a very nice location and set-up for his pack of
clients with Thomson Bike Tours. Remember I did an interview with Peter last winter? (An Interview with Thomson Bike Tours).
It was great to finally get to say a brief hello.

We had another 5-8 km
to ride to the finish line at Peyragudes. I don’t remember exactly
how long it was because the riding went by very fast. We were entertained by the roadside activity and the growing crowds, the Tour was still hours away. Tents were scattered across the hillside, camper
vans squeezed in so tightly I imagined that groups of men had gathered to guide
each one into it’s place on the green hillside.

Any place would have
been a good place to be on Stage 17. We found a nice spot on the hillside near the
finish where we could see the road below as it snaked among the camper vans and
into the first village then traversed a long road to our right and finally
passed the second village and to the finish line in front of us. I had always considered most ski resorts in France as not
particularly attractive, but Peyragudes is new and felt like Vail Village in
Colorado. The setting was spectacular. The weather absolutely perfect.

We spent hours on that
mountain but I was never bored, it was worth coming early. Sponsor carts and staff handed out constant free
items to the gathering fans before the caravans arrival – Skoda and LCL caps,
Haribo candy, Vittel water, Bic pens, Le Coq Sport jersey keychains. It was fun
watching kids and adults collect and share the swag. The French kids next to us
shared their candy, we offered duplicate hats to the swiss couple to our right.
We laughed at the Aussie’s who held handfuls of snack crackers. The Skoda yeti
character came by, the Festina character came by flipping caps off of
unsuspecting fans laughing through a loud speaker. It was delightful and we giggled out loud.

When the official
LeTour.com website claims that 46% of fans come “first and foremost to see the
caravan,” this is exactly what they mean. There was no way one could take
anything seriously in the midst of such playful fun. TV announcers may convey
the intensity of the sport of cycling (even though this year was less
suspenseful) and cameramen try hard to present the beautiful landscape of
France, but being at the Tour is a combination of mischief, relaxation, and
silliness. There is a lot going on along the roads at the Tour de France.

We could watch the big
screen TV from our spot on the hillside and listen to the French announcer's booming voice. We saw Valverde was in the lead, we knew
to expect him first. We could see Wiggins in his yellow jersey approach on the road from
far below, the helicopters whirling overhead. We did not see or know that Cavendish had fallen just down the road
because we were busy cheering the lead group and the peloton as they raced for
the finish line before our eyes.

Before the mid-pack of
riders arrived, the lead riders were already descending down the same road. Suddenly we were
watching riders coming and going in both directions, recognizing them easily as
they passed. The finish was to the left, the exit off the jammed-pack mountain to
the right, both seemed equally important to the riders. The infamous Tour de
France traffic jam would start within minutes of the finish, and oh what a traffic
jam it was. I always thought someone should have warned me that cycling off of a Tour de France mountain stage is like trying to ride a bike in and out of a Rolling Stones concert.

Traffic is expected when
the entire caravan, team cars, fans cars, campers, walkers and cyclists attempt
to descend at the same time. We later met a French cyclist in the town of Arreau, at the bottom of the mountain, waiting for his friends, he asked us what was taking so long. Many many cars up there, we explained in our 1st grade French. If there was a sport for descending after the TDF
– it would be my #1 sport. I love it! I cannot explain it other than to say it
is totally thrilling to be around thousands of people who just had a super
great time and are now headed home to tell stories of their day.

Down the Col de Peyresourde we
rode at high speeds when suddenly two cyclists passed us pacing behind a car. I
came across them later along the roadside and commented that it looked like
fun. Next thing I knew we were joining their group of traveling Aussie cyclists
guided by Tony of Diamond CycleTours (www.diamondcycletours.com) for a drink at the Hotel de France in the town of Arreau. They
were great fun and a perfect ending to our fantastic day. Thanks for the drinks and laughs.

Alright time for some
photographs of the day – Stage 17 2012 Tour de France, the day I wished would
never end.All photos by Karen at PedalDancer.com and Monica B. (click any image to enlarge)

Creperie on Col de Peyresourde

Really funny waitress

Thomson Bike Tours' set-up

Campervans on road to Peyragudes

Monica and the Red Kite

finish line

podium

Skoda Yeti

Aussies, and Phil Liggett's love child - or so he claims

Lots of free stuff

We are really at the Tour de France

Impressive caravan

fans waiting

caravan entertainment

fun

PMU podium girls

Our views

spectacular

Alejandro Valverde arrives to win the stage

He really wanted the win

Wiggo arrives

Froome and Wiggins

Vincenzo Nibali

Tejay van Garderen

Chris Horner

Here comes Cadel

There goes Cadel

Immediately the riders headed back down the hill

Ivan bundled up and heading downhill

A jacket, a coke and they were riding again, down this time

Edvald Boassen Hagen

Thomas Voeckler

The chase group

Chris Horner, already eating

The peloton arrived

singing songs

having drinks in Arreau after the stage

My human interest observation from the day: I noticed as the riders approached the finish line a few of them were looking back to the large bend to see who was coming, many others had an agonizing expression on their face, but a good chunk of riders were looking out across the spectacular landscape across the view down the mountain. These men had just ridden 143.5 kilometers and were probably consumed with the pain and pace and getting to the top, and yet instinctively they couldn't help but look down the road at the spectacular view off Peyrugudes and wonder where they had come from. We all do it.

The look back

The grimace

The wow look at that view

Glad we weren't the only ones enjoying the views on a beautiful day in France. Even Mark Cavendish enjoyed the view (or maybe he was just tired of looking at Bernie's back).

Simon Gerrans threw his bottle, we didn't catch it. (bottle mid-air)

Peter Sagan came in smiling ... of course, he had a lot to smile about.

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Pedal Dancer®

Pedal Dancer® is a bike travel blog for travelers, cyclists and cycling fans. A resource for those who ride events or attend bike races in the USA and Europe. Light on opinion and heavy on information and joy of the sport, topics include: bike routes and cycling climb descriptions, cycling lifestyle and educational topics, travel tips, spectator guides, ride reports, plus the bikes and equipment used in the sport of cycling.